One of Dragon Ball Super Chapter 104’s primary settings is a museum dedicated to Earth’s greatest heroes. A hall of statues displays various characters, each with a significant role as Earth’s savior. One character is mentioned to have given his life for Earth, calling back an original Dragon Ball character whose legacy is alive in Goku and Krillin. This character is none other than Master Mutaito, Master Roshi’s teacher.

Master Mutaito is one of the most excellent martial arts teachers ever. For a long time, he was the first savior of Earth before Dragon Ball Super revealed that there were many more, including Olibu, who was shown to be canon after so long. However, the martial artist’s legacy is still running strong. To understand Mutaito’s power, looking at his accomplishments in the series is essential.

Master Mutaito’s Appearances in Dragon Ball

Mutaito Debuted in Dragon Ball Episode 102: “Enter King Piccolo”

Mutaito’s first appearance is in the King Piccolo Saga. After Goku sets out to find Krillin’s murderer, Roshi can clue in that the only person who could have killed Krillin is a minion of King Piccolo. Roshi tells everyone of his past encounter with King Piccolo and how Piccolo plunged the world into terror and upheaval. King Piccolo was unopposed until Master Mutaito, Roshi, and Shen sealed the Demon King away, using a technique that took Mutaito’s life.

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Mutaito is portrayed as an elderly man with gray hair and a large gray mustache. His hair resembles Jackie Chun’s, the disguise Roshi wore during his best fight with Goku in Episode 26. He wears a traditional white gi and a black collar. On his chest is his kanji, pronounced bu in Japanese. It stands for martial arts or military and was worn by those trained under Master Mutaito. It is also the logo for the World Martial Arts Tournament, likely in honor of his sacrifice against King Piccolo. Mutaito’s name comes from the characters “mu,” meaning martial arts, and “taito,” a shortening of taizanhokuto, which means great authority. Due to dying 288 years before the start of the series, Mutaito’s canon appearances are kept to flashbacks and mentionings.

Filler Content in Dragon Ball Has Goku Fight Mutaito

This Mini Arc Was Covered in Episode 129: “The Time Room”

Goku is training with Kami and Popo on the Lookout during the Piccolo Jr. Saga. He travels to the past using the Lookout’s Pendulum Room. It’s important to remember that this is all filler content, and this room doesn’t actually exist in the canon, which is why it’s never used again. He had previously encountered Mutaito before his battle with King Piccolo and had trained with him.

Training with Mutaito allowed Goku to understand the basis of all Ki-based techniques, which gave Goku a greater understanding of the Kamehameha. This became the only time Mutaito spoke to Goku and imparted wisdom. However, as Mutaito is Roshi’s teacher, Goku also carries on Mutaito’s teachings daily as he trains in martial arts.

Goku Carries on Mutaito’s Will Through Roshi’s Teachings

So does Krillin, Gohan, and Others that Goku has Trained

Master Roshi is only as strong as he is because of his training with Mutaito. It’s valid to say that part of the reason Goku is so skilled is what Mutaito imparted to Roshi. Roshi’s teachings reflect his master’s, especially the concept of learning and fighting well. Roshi greatly respected Mutaito’s training and martial arts skills.

Mutaito is responsible for training Roshi and, by proxy, the Z-Fighters, so one can say that he has continuously saved the planet through their actions. This passing down of the torch is an essential theme of Dragon Ball. It represents the idea of mentorship, where experienced fighters pass on their knowledge and skills to the next generation, ensuring that the legacy of Earth’s protectors continues. This theme is seen in Goku’s attempt to pass down his teachings and the role of Earth’s protector to characters like Gohan or Uub. Without Mutaito, there would be no Dragon Ball.

Mutaito’s Power Against King Piccolo

Mutaito used the Evil Containment Wave to Defeat the Demon King

Mutaito was described as an honorable warrior who greatly respected his students. This respect was so great that when King Piccolo’s demon spawn killed most of them, Mutaito raced to avenge them, only to be beaten to near death. This shame of losing in front of his remaining students, Roshi and Shen, caused Mutaito to seek solace and train alone.

He went to a location southwest of the Divine Crossing, where there was a highland full of strong enemies that he taught against. This is where Tien and Chiaotzu trained before the Saiyans arrived. This location is where Mutaito developed the Evil Containment Wave and used it to seal a Fire Demon called the Evil Flame.

The Evil Containment Wave is Mutaito’s signature technique. Designed by Mutaito to seal its opponent away by sucking them into a container with a special seal on it. This technique can be used on anyone and is often portrayed with a green swirling light taking its target and turning it into energy to be sealed away. Any container can also be used as long as it can be sealed shut, so King Piccolo was sealed in an Electric Rice Cooker.

The downside to this technique is the strain it places on the user’s life force, possibly killing them if they don’t have enough strength to withstand it. This is why Muitaito dies after sealing away King Piccolo, as the technique drained his life completely. Besides the Evil Containment Wave, Mutaito is seen as a powerful martial artist who can use and understand Ki-based techniques. Like most earth-based Dragon Ball human fighters, Mutaito could not fly.

Mutaito’s Other Appearances

Mutaito Appears in Spin-off Material and Adaptations

Mutaito has minor appearances in the many spin-offs of the Dragon Ball franchise. Often, he’s kept to unique references, but Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans was the first location to reveal where Mutaito went to train.

It even features a moment where Mutaito’s spirit helps Tien develop the Multi-Form Technique. Mutaito appears as a statue in Dragon Ball Online, a series existing far off into the future of the Dragon Ball timeline with its cast of strong characters. Players can also obtain Mutaito’s Gi as a wearable outfit in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 through the TP Medal Shop.

In an interesting bit of trivia, Mutaito appears in the live-action film Dragon Ball Evolution, played by Ernie Hudson. (More accurately, his counterpart, Sifu Norris, is played by Ernie Hudson.) Ernie Hudson is known best for his role in the Ghostbusters franchise as Winston Zeddemore.

Both characters (Sifu/Mutaito and Winston) are known for fighting against supernatural forces and sealing them. Sifu/Mutaito uses the Evil Containment Wave, and Winston uses the Ghostbusters’ method of catching ghosts. This casting choice is either an intentional or coincidental nod to the two characters’ similarities. Still, with how Evolution got everything about Dragon Ball wrong, it’s far more likely this was a coincidence.

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Mutaito’s reveal in chapter 104 of Dragon Ball Super is just a nod to the legacy of Dragon Ball that Toriyama left in Toyotaro’s hands. Like how Mutaito taught and inspired Roshi, Toyotaro was taught and inspired by Toriyama. Now that Akira Toriyama has passed, the future of Dragon Ball is in Toyotaro’s hands, just like it was with Roshi. With this chapter, it looks like the future of Dragon Ball is in great hands, as Toyotaro will likely inspire even more people to pick up the pencil and start creating.

Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.

Created by

Akira Toriyama

First Film

Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies

First TV Show

Dragon Ball

Summary

Dragon Ball is the labor of writer/illustrator Akira Toriyama, beginning with Dragon Ball back in 1984. The series originally started as a serialized manga back in Weekly Shonen Jump for nearly a decade until it expanded into the anime franchises it is most known for today. Dragon Ball was later adapted into two animes, with one being Dragon Ball Z, the most universally known series in the entire Dragon Ball canon. The franchise has continued to expand lore via films, video games, and additional sequel TV series, such as the more recent Dragon Ball Super and Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Dragon Ball centers mostly around Son Goku, a being known as a Saiyan, and his friends as they face off against intergalactic threats and seek out the titular dragon balls. When all seven of these balls are collected, they can be used to summon a legendary dragon that can grant the wishes of whoever so gathers them. The Dragon Ball franchise continues to be one of the most well-known and beloved animes of all time, with over forty different countries airing it, and has had a tremendous impact on Western culture as a whole.

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